Meister der Farbe » million viewers, the largest ever for a World Junior

BUFFALO – November has proven a gloomy month from start to (near) finish for the Leafs. What began with a disastrous 4-0 defeat in Vancouver continued Friday with another loss to the leagues worst team, a 3-2 overtime edging by the Sabres at First Niagara Center, their fourth in the past five games. It was the eighth loss in 12 games in November for the Leafs (4-5-3) and sixth straight defeat on the road. Buffalo has just three wins outside of regulation all season, two of them coming against Toronto in the past two weeks. "Weve just got to stick with it," said James van Riemsdyk, following the latest loss. "You can never be too high or too low. Its a long season. Were in a decent position right now still." With just two regulation wins all month, the Leafs are now tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division – the Canadiens have an identical 14-9-3 record with the two clubs meeting in Montreal on Saturday – their 6-1-0 start to the season far in the rear-view mirror. Only an elite power play unit and sturdy goaltending have remained intact (though that too is regressing somewhat in recent days) through the opening two months. Mustering fewer than two goals of offence per game in November (1.92 to be precise) while yielding more than three against (3.08), the Leafs are struggling right now on both sides of the puck. A once confident penalty kill too has fallen into turmoil. The unit allowed its 14th power play goal of the month to the Sabres, dipping to 71 per cent in that span. On this night, the Leafs jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the 14th goal of the year from Phil Kessel, grabbing the edge once more on the second this season from Nik Kulemin. Both leads were erased, however, the Sabres coming from behind to win on a goal from Christian Ehrhoff 38 seconds into overtime. The goal came just minutes after van Riemsdyk was hauled down by Matt DAgostini on a shorthanded rush in the closing moments of regulation. No call was made on the play. "The breaks arent going our way," said head coach Randy Carlyle, his frustration obvious. The Leafs will close the month of November with their second road date of the season in Montreal. December looms with a particularly difficult schedule, the Sharks, Bruins, Kings, Blues, Blackhawks and Penguins all on the calendar. "We still have a lot of games left so weve just got to keep trying to find ways to figure out the things that are going wrong and then keep doing some of the things that were doing well," said van Riemsdyk. Five Points 1. Road Woes The defeat marked the sixth straight away from the Air Canada Centre for the Leafs, now 5-5-3 on the road this season. Outscored 19-10 during the six-game stretch, their last win outside of Toronto came on Oct. 30 in Calgary. 2. Late Call in Question Streaking down the right side of the ice with the Leafs killing off a late penalty to Paul Ranger, van Riemdsyk had his legs swept out beneath him by DAgostini, his body crashing into the vacated net. "They said that he played the puck and he made contact with the puck," Carlyle said DAgostini, "thus hes allowed to cross-block and take our player out. In my mind, I didnt think it deemed a penalty shot, but I thought it shouldve been a penalty for taking the players knees out. But they didnt make the call." "I dont want to get into too much," said van Riemsdyk, "but I tried to slide [the puck] over to my forehand and then my legs went out from under me so thats all I remember." The Leafs would eventually kill off the penalty to Ranger, but the Sabres would score in overtime before he could rejoin the play. "You cant take your hand off the stick and grab the player," Carlyle said of Rangers penalty, a holding call which saw him grab Ville Leino. "Thats new rules hockey." 3. Shorthanded Draws Moments before Ehrhoff scored the winner did the Leafs lose a shorthanded draw, a rare loss by Jerred Smithson in this instance. A subtle point in their struggles on the penalty kill this season (now 20th overall) has been diminished effectiveness on the draw shorthanded. Tyler Bozak and Jay McClement, who absorb the majority of faceoffs in such situations, have not been quite as successful this season as they were a year ago. The pair combined to win a healthy 52 per cent in 2013, but have so far dipped to just 42 per cent. Bozak in particular, has struggled considerably. The 27-year-old has won just 35 per cent of his shorthanded draws in 14 games this winter. Added to the roster last month, Smithson has actually been the teams most efficient faceoff man on the penalty kill and at even strength. The 34-year-old is now 18-33 on the penalty kill in 11 games. Player 2013-14 2013 Tyler Bozak 35% 53% Jay McClement 46% 50% Jerred Smithson 55% 54% * * With Edmonton and Florida *With Edmonton and Florida 4. November Leaders Though hes played in just seven games this month, Trevor Smith has vaulted to the top of the Leafs scoring chart in November. Indicative of their offensive troubles this month, Smith, with six points, is now tied with van Riemsdyk and Mason Raymond for the monthly scoring lead. Slightly behind in that race is the teams overall scoring leader. While he did pot his 14th this season, the 26-year-old Kessel has gone 13 straight games without an assist, boasting five goals and five points in 12 games this month. 5. Mix on Defence Paired together for all but five games of the 2013 regular season, Mark Fraser and Cody Franson were reunited this week in Carlyles search for some stability beyond his top pair of Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson. "Its great how comfortable we are with one another," said Fraser before Fridays game, "whether its just the talking to each other – the vocabulary – [or] our body language. We played long enough with one another that we can really read off of each other. Were definitely excited to be back." Jake Gardiner returned to the lineup after sitting for the first time all season in Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old replaced Morgan Rielly alongside Paul Ranger against the Sabres, notching an assist in 21 minutes. "I thought we all played a decent game tonight, played hard, competed and they capitalized at the end," said Gardiner. Stat Pack 6-2-2 – Career record for James Reimer versus Buffalo. 8 – Blocked shots for Mark Fraser against the Sabres, a game-high. 1.92 – Goals per game for the Leafs this month. 6 - Points for Trevor Smith in November, tied for the team lead. 13 – Consecutive games without an assist for Phil Kessel. 4-5-3 – Leafs record in November. 34-48 – Toronto penalty kill over the past 12 games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-1Season: 24.4% PK: 3-4Season: 79.2% Quote of the Night "I dont think [you] need rocket science to figure out that if you continue to give up five and six goals, youre not going to get many points. We have to buckle down definitely in that area. Weve got to get our defensive game going to a higher level. And maybe part of that is to create a little bit more in the offensive zone as far as time in there." - Randy Carlyle, on his teams struggles defensively. Up Next The Leafs conclude a three-game road trip in Montreal on Saturday evening. Hydro Flask 40 Oz Australia . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. Hydro Flask 40 Oz Sale . A larger-than-life personality known for his intimidating style in the 18-yard box, Schmeichels career spanned some 20 years -- including a memorable tenure at Manchester United. http://www.hydroflaskaustraliasale.com/s...ter-bottle.html. Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Hydro Flask Sale Australia . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. Hydro Flask 24 Oz Sale . Schaub will start for an injured Case Keenum and try to help the Texans end a 12-game skid. Schaubs last action in Houston came when he took over late in a game against Oakland on Nov. 17 as Keenum was struggling.TORONTO -- Sebastien Bourdais drove his motor home from St. Petersburg, Fla., to the Indianapolis 500 last month, before getting in his No. 7 Dallara Chevrolet and competing in the race. When the Honda Indy kicks off in Toronto two weeks from now, hell be doing the same. Stopping for races in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Pocono, Pa., along the way, the man who drives for a living doesnt mind the long trek. His family, wholl meet him in Rochester, N.Y., before heading on the open road with Bourdais for the next few weeks, doesnt seem to mind either. "Road trip!" Bourdais exclaimed with a laugh. "Its fun. Weve got bunk beds in there and the kids love it." Regardless of how he gets to Toronto, Bourdais is looking forward to his arrival. For the native of Le Mans, France, this years Honda Indy will mark his eighth time competing in the event. "Its one of these historic races that the fans are very knowledgeable about and its a track that we as drivers are always looking forward to," Bourdais said in a phone interview from St. Petersburg. "Its a cool place to come and race -- the track is awesome, the fans are great, and they come year after year. "That really makes it special for us." Bourdais has placed in the Top 10 at the Toronto race six times, but missed that mark for the first time last year when he finished 14th. He won the Toronto Indy in 2004, a year that kicked off the best IndyCar seasons of his career. Between 2004 and 2007, the Frenchman won four consecutive Champ Car World Series, all while racing with the Newman/Haas team. Since then, however, his IndyCar trophy case has been bare as he toils with Dragon Racing, a less established team. "It was very different times," Bourdais said of his dominant years. "I was with a championship-winning team and it was normal to win with Newman/Haas. "Now, being the underdog is a completely different situation. Were trying to do the best we can but its been a little more challenging than wed like. Were working at it, but it definitely hasnt been going the way we want it to so far." Bourdais left IndyCar after the 2007 season to focus on his dream of racing Formula One cars. He returned to the Indy circuit in 2011, but hasnt participated in a full season until now. No longer racing for Newman/Haas, Bourdais is findingg his return to the sport challenging.dddddddddddd "Youre only as good as your car is and you cant do it on your own," he said. "I knew it was going to be a challenge but I basically just wanted to have fun again and Im doing that. "Obviously the fun level would be a little higher if we could be more competitive but its the cars I want to drive and the ones I really enjoy. As long as your passion is your job, youre doing all right." Bourdais is currently ranked 21st in the Indy standings with 133 points. Brazils Helio Castroneves, racing for Team Penske, ranks first with 332 points. With the season past its half-way point, Bourdais has a lot of catching up to do. His 14th-place finish in last Sundays Iowa Corn Indy 250 led Dragon Racing to release engineer Neil Fife, who had worked with Bourdais since 2011. Newcomer Tom Brown has not worked with Bourdais before. "The team thought it was best to try something different so here we are. Well get on with a new engineer and try to get something going for us," Bourdais said. "Changing engineers halfway through the year is always tough, but well do the best we can because thats all we can do." In Toronto, Bourdais will be competing against the top drivers in the world, including 26-year-old James Hinchcliffe. The Oakville, Ont., native has made a name for himself over the past two seasons, winning the rookie of the year award in 2011 with Bourdais former team Newman/Haas, and the most popular driver award in 2012 with Andretti Autosport. Hinchcliffe jumped from ninth to fourth in the standings with his victory in the Iowa 250. Working with Craig Hampson, Bourdais former engineer from his Newman/Haas victory days, Hinchcliffe has 266 points and three IndyCar victories this season. Bourdais, 34, was around Hinchcliffes age when he won the Toronto Indy. The veteran says hes been impressed with the young driver so far. "James has really shown everyone he has what it takes," Bourdais said. "Last year, stepping into the Andretti Autosport organization, its one of these things where you cant do it without a good team and he certainly found a great organization... "Hes got everything -- hes very aggressive, he doesnt make many mistakes and hes a really nice guy. I think he could have a very bright future." ' ' '